Florida took a big step in building up its tight ends room for the 2026 season on Monday afternoon, getting a commitment from New Haven’s Evan Chieca.
Chieca’s representation, Tristen Kuhn of Nilson Sports, told Chris Hummer, Matt Zenitz and Tom Loy of CBS Sports of Chieca’s choice to be a part of Jon Sumrall‘s first roster in Gainesville. Grabbing Chieca out of the transfer portal not only beefed up Florida‘s depth at the tight end position, it took away a potential prize from “multiple SEC schools,” according to Hummer’s report on Monday.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end from the tiny Northeast Conference is set to take a huge step up to the SEC in 2026. He caught 31 passes for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns this past season, and then Chieca chose to continue his collegiate career at UF after visiting other SEC programs such as Alabama and LSU. Chieca also visited Kentucky during his portal recruiting process.
Chieca, who will have 2 years of eligibility remaining, was named to the All-Northeast Conference second team in 2025.
According to Pro Football Focus, Chieca earned a 57.7 offensive grade after playing 565 total snaps during his junior season. Chieca also posted a 60.1 pass-block grade, according to PFF, and he added 139 yards after the catch, showing his ability to extend plays that Florida hopes will translate to the SEC level.
Chieca represents the 24th player that Florida has plucked out of the portal, as Sumrall tries to build up his first roster as UF head coach.
The Gators lost starter Tony Livingston as well as Hayden Hansen from their tight ends room, but Amir Jackson is returning, and now UF has added Chieca to its list of tight end transfers that includes Georgia Tech‘s Luke Harpring and James Madison’s Lacota Dippre.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
